Marc Trestman and Chris Jones were the biggest coaching names on this day.

The two veteran quarterbacks didn’t exactly perform well, which is a charitable way to say Kevin Glenn and Ricky Ray were woeful. That is, until the very end when Ray led the Argos to their game-winning drive.

Big names, but few big plays and more turnovers than points, it seemed like, for far too long on East final Sunday.

Typical of the game, the afternoon finally turned dramatic and compelling when Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge performed some second-half magic until the magic man himself, Ray, had the game in his hands and used his poise and precision to engineer the winning drive.

Defences ruled on this moist day at BMO Field and at the centre of it was Corey Chamblin, the coach who led Saskatchewan to its 2013 Grey Cup when Ridernation exulted. He will now be remembered as the defensive co-ordinator who helped the Argos and, in turn, prevented the Riders from becoming the first CFL crossover team to play for a Grey Cup.

The Argos defence stood tall, save for a 35-yard reception to Duron Carter and a 36-yard Bridge run that set up a Carter score. And until Ray put it together on that final drive, it was the Chamblin-led defence that held things together.

“He lays the foundation for our defence,’’ said Argos middle linebacker Bear Woods of Chamblin. “Not just schematically, but mentally and emotion and the physical component is the game plan. He sets the tone.

“There are ebbs and flows, during a season, in a game, and he does a good job of tapping into guys. He really takes pride in leading us there.”

The one constant on Sunday was the Argos defence, which produced the first touchdown when Victor Butler’s rush forced Glenn to be picked off at the Riders’ 39 by linebacker Terrance Plummer who ran it back for a pick-six and didn’t give up much in the way of big plays.

“It’s never as good, it’s never as bad,’’ said Woods. “I will say this and this is what I remember: I remember Duron (an ex-Als teammate) making a play, no surprise there because he’s an electrifying player, and Bridge making a run.

“And that’s what he does. Outside of that, I don’t know what they really did, honestly. I can’t recall.”

Marcus Thigpen was a non-factor, there was constant pressure thrown at the Riders backfield and the occasional play that allowed the chains to be moved. But overall the Argos ‘D’ deserved an ‘A’ and the man responsible was Chamblin.

As players, and later family members, began to file into the team’s locker room, Woods walked over to a chalkboard on the far side and wrote down: “Do it again.”

According to Woods, Chamblin has been preaching this theme all season and it was now Woods’ time to reinforce that point by ensuring everyone saw the message and absorbed.

The Argos’ job is far from over, one game to be played with the chance to win a title.

“Was this (Sunday’s win over the Riders) our most dominant performance?’’ asked Woods of the defence. “Let’s just say it was. We have to do it again. When we came in here to celebrate, I walked straight to the board and I wanted guys to know that right now is our celebration, but we aren’t there yet.”

Woods has never appeared in a Grey Cup, coming up short when the Als failed to take the final step, whether it was Glenn in control in the semi when he played for Hamilton, Ray at the helm in the 2012 East final, Henry Burris or Zach Collaros.

As he offered his thoughts, Woods was receiving complimentary text messages from his former Montreal teammates.